It is far too early to know what effect social housing will have on any particular private scheme, although it is a formula that has been working away quietly in the UK for many years. Builders have yet to hammer out a deal with the planners on how it will all work - whether the social housing will be mixed through the development or segregated, whether the units will be built by the developers themselves, or the local authority and how the schemes will ultimately be managed.

In the short term, estate agents are quietly anticipating a two tier pricing structure in housing estates. The builders lucky enough to have planning in place will probably get more for their houses or apartments in social housing-free developments, than schemes coming on stream which will have to meet the new conditions.